Between Two Worlds

Phil Ryken, Senior Minisister of Tenth Presbyterian Church, addressed his congregation in this way today: "Once again we are witnesses to a disaster and we are bound to ask: What is the right way for a Christian to respond?" You can read his answers at the Ref 21 blog.

Elliot Grudem, a pastor in Raleigh, NC and the former Leadership Director of Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans, passes along an update regarding DSM. DSM is under the leadership of Mo Leverett, who is pouring out his life to evangelize and disciple the urban poor in New Orleans, building into their lives a God-centered worldview. Here is Elliot's email. I encourage you to act as the Lord leads.

As you may know, we lived near and worked in the Ninth Ward—the area hit hardest by the storm. Many of the homes in that area are completely under water. Desire Street Ministries’ (DSM) facility has water up to the roofline. The residents of the city’s poorest neighborhood have lost everything: their homes, their possessions, and for some, their family and friends. One newspaper reported that rescuers in the Ninth Ward were pushing dead bodies away from their boats with sticks just to get to those who still were trapped in their homes. Stories like that and pictures—especially those that came across the AP wire today from the New Orleans Convention Center—make us sick. And angry. And frustrated. And they make us grieve.

But we do not grieve as those without hope (1 Thes. 4:13). In the midst of the darkness, as always, the light of God shines through. Or, to paraphrase author Frederick Buechner, grace is like laughter mixed with tears, so mixed together that you can’t tell if the whole episode started or finished with laughter or tears. And it’s the kind of laughter that often comes as light in the midst of the darkness—just before the darkness swallows it alive. Or, to quote King Lear, “The worst returns to laughter.”

We have word that most of our friends made it out alive. Many of DSM’s staff evacuated to a camp outside Jackson, MS with some of the kids involved in the ministry. When Jackson took a hit from Katrina, the staff left with kids to areas across the country—most of them landing somewhere between Atlanta and Houston. But there still are a number of kids and family members unaccounted for. And as of yesterday, there were still people being rescued from rooftops in the Desire neighborhood. The stories of escape and rescue are vivid reminders to us of God’s continued grace and protection for his creation.

DSM has temporarily relocated their offices to Atlanta. Like many other residents of the Ninth Ward, staff members evacuated with little and lost everything they left behind and now are trying to rebuild their lives from scratch. And many are without the resources to do so. Therefore, I would ask you join Kacey and me as we help in the following ways:

1. Check out some of the pictures and read some of the stories on www.nola.com.
2. Pray that the Lord would open your heart to your brothers and sisters in need (1 John 3:17).
3. Pray for the people of New Orleans, specifically the residents of the Ninth Ward as they end up in strange areas as people without a home. Again, the people that lived in the Ninth Ward are some of the poorest residents of a city that is one of the most impoverished in the nation.
4. Pray that they would find God to be their “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1).
5. Pray that the chaos that has enveloped New Orleans will come to an end and that order will soon be restored.
6. Pray also that the Lord will allow the necessary food and other provisions to get to the people that so desperately need them.
7. Pray for the staff, students, and families of DSM. Thank the Lord for keeping them safe.
8. Pray that those who are still missing would be kept safe and be able to connect with DSM staff quickly.
9. Pray that they will get settled quickly and that they will make wise decisions regarding the future. Follow the progress of DSM’s efforts at http://www.desirestreet.org/hurricane.php.
10. Support DSM staff, students, and their families as they seek to reestablish themselves by them sending gift certificates to Wal-Mart, Target, Footlocker, or JCPenneys. Our good friend and DSM staff member, Ben McLeish, is collecting the gift certificates and distributing them as needed. You can send the certificates to:

Ben McLeish
4620 Forest Place
Cumming, GA 30041

Support DSM financially as they seek to minister to the residents of the Ninth Ward by sending checks made payable to Desire Street Ministries to:

Whitney National Bank Mail Teller
1716 Mangum Road
Houston, TX 77092

Thank you for your continued concern, prayers, and support.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died at the age of 80. Below are excerpts from an interview I conducted in July with Notre Dame law professor Richard Garnett:

JT: It seems all but inevitable that Chief Justice Rehnquist will resign very soon. Much will be written about him in the days ahead, analyzing his legacy on the court. But you were in a unique position to know him personally and to work for him professionally, clerking for him from 1996-1997. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience? What is the Chief Justice like as a person?

RG: Working for the Chief Justice was a wonderful experience. He is a top-shelf lawyer, an excellent judge, a gifted administrator, and a decent and down-to-earth person. It’s not really possible, in a few sentences, to explain what he’s like “as a person,” and I don’t imagine that I know him any better than hundreds of others who’ve worked with him over the years. For me, what sticks in my memory about the Chief is his even keel, his complete lack of snobbery or pretension, his balanced and “long view” attitude toward the Court’s work and his own decisions, and the care he took to teach, and not merely to supervise and command, his law clerks. I have a great job, and I owe a great deal of my professional happiness to the Chief.

JT: How do you think history will judge the Chief Justice?

RG: I think he will be viewed as one of the great Chief Justices: He has run the Court well and efficiently, and enjoys the respect and affection of all the Justices with whom he has worked. He has been an effective administrator of the Judicial Branch generally, and of the Judicial Conference. I think he has been an effective advocate for the judiciary, and for the rule of law, in Congress and in the public square. He’s done a valuable service to the education of Americans generally about the Constitution, and our history, through his popular history books (All the Laws But One, Centennial Crisis, etc.). In terms of the Court’s doctrine, he not only contributed to, and presided over, important developments in criminal procedure and habeas corpus, religious freedom, federalism, state action, and federal Indian law, he also—more generally—helped to fundamentally transform our conversations about the Constitution, by re-introducing important premises about enumerated powers, state sovereignty, and originalism that had been forgotten, or pushed to the margins, during the 1960s.

Hugh Hewitt has some great suggestions (part 1 and part 2).

Twenty years ago, John Piper wrote lyrics to be sung to the tune of Jesus, Priceless Treasure which I believe have application to recent events:

Desiring God has posted a list of resources compiled for members at Bethlehem on ways to help with disaster relief.

In a sermon 25 years ago, John Piper preached on how the two thieves on cross represent two different ways of responding to suffering. Here's his explanation of the first thief's response:

The first thief says, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" What a picture of a spiritually destitute, worldly man. It is a matter of total indifference to him that he is suffering "the due reward of his deeds." To him right and wrong, praise and blame, good and bad are of no interest: his one objective is to save his earthly skin. He might even believe Jesus is the Messiah, the King of the Jews. But, it's only a matter of convenience to him: he'll take anybody as king who can get him off the cross. Just another patsy to serve his own worldly purposes.

That's the way one whole segment of humans relate to God in suffering. Suffering interrupts their own private worldly goals and pleasures. So why not try God; if you are king, then get me out of this mess. It's the old car-jack theology. A car-jack is a dirty, useless thing to be kept out of sight in the trunk until you have a flat tire (a little suffering). Then you get it out, let it do the dirty work and put it away again. "If you're such a good jack, jack me down off this cross, Jesus." "If you're such a good jack, jack me up out of this sickness, out of this financial mess, out of this lousy job, out of this crummy marriage. "

The thief had no spirit of brokenness, or guilt or penitence or humility. He could only see Jesus as a possible power by which to escape the cross. He did not see him as a king to be followed. It never entered his mind that he should say he was sorry and should change.

To read about the other thief and how they compare, you can read the whole sermon.

John Piper's latest article.

"In the wake of the death, destruction, and chaos unleashed by Hurricane Katrina, the staff and volunteers of Prison Fellowship are turning to Almighty God in prayer for the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

We are also consulting with state officials who are dealing with the enormous task of relocating entire prison populations away from the affected areas. As a result, Prison Fellowship is gathering critical supplies — toiletries, blankets, etc. — to truck down to Louisiana’s prisons.

These prisons need these supplies to accommodate the influx of new inmates. Obviously, for the prisoners and the corrections staff, this is an enormous humanitarian and security concern.

To contribute to this relief effort, click here. You may also call 1-800-206-9764.

"The Sovereign Grace Disaster Relief Fund is now collecting donations for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Our purpose for collecting donations is to serve local churches in need, while having as our primary goal providing relief for the pastors and members of Lakeview Christian Center. Lakeview is located in New Orleans, and has been in the final stages of adoption into the family of Sovereign Grace churches. Along with Pastor Keith Collins and Lakeview, we have also been in contact with Dr. Ligon Duncan, Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, in an effort to identify other churches in need.

"For the latest information about the needs of Lakeview members, such as temporary housing or employment, please visit their message board.

"To make an online contribution, please choose DISASTER RELIEF FUND from the drop down box in the 'Designation' field."

Russ Moore on "Christ, Katrina, and My Hometown." Opening lines: "In a very real sense, my hometown no longer exists. And I watched it all on CNN."

It was about a year ago this month that I started blogging. I remember needing to give this blog a title. I looked over at my bookshelf, saw John Stott's Between Two Worlds, and thought, "That'll work." Thanks for all those who have taken time to drop me a note or made comments on the blog.

So in one year of blogging, how many times have I mentioned a music CD? By my best count, the number would be: zero. But now I'll break my silence by recommending a CD I've really come to enjoy: Hymned No. 1 by Bart Millard, the lead singer of Mercy Me.

Here's an excerpt from a CT Review:

Drop all expectations and trust me when I say that Hymned No. 1 is the best hymns album of the year, and probably one of the greatest of its kind.

...Hymned succeeds by making these church classics feel universal to the Christian heritage of all denominations and traditions, even for those of us who grew up on European hymnody and liturgy instead of Southern gospel. And that's something that easily transcends any expectations you might have of an album such as this. You may have heard it all before, but you haven't heard Hymned.

AP: "There's a lot of aid surging toward those who've been affected. Millions of gallons of water. Millions of tons of food. We're making progress about pulling people out of the Superdome," the president said.

For the first time, however, he stopped defending his administration's response and criticized it. "A lot of people are working hard to help those who've been affected. The results are not acceptable," he said. "I'm heading down there right now."

"Make sure your marriage relationship continues to thrive after the arrival of children. One way of doing this is to cultivate from an early age the idea of what we call "healthy neglect." In other words, build into the day some time when the child is left to his or her own devices, doing something of his or her own choosing or even doing nothing. Children spend far too little time lying on the grass staring at the sky these days. They might learn something (Psalm 8:3,4)."

Ann Benton, Aren't They Lovely When They're Asleep? Lessons in Unsentimental Parenting, p. 37.

Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church
by D.A. Carson
A Review by Paul Alexander

The Emerging Church and Emerging Worship
by Dan Kimball
A Review by Mike McKinley

It's worth highlighting this site again--Charity Navigator--which provides info on charities, how efficient and fiscally responsible they are, etc.

Don Elbourne, pastor of Lakeshore Baptist Church in Lakeshore, MS and blogger at Locusts and Wild Honey, has lost his home and likely his church building. He has yet to hear from most of his church members. If you want to donate to the Elbourne family, he's provided a way to do it online through Paypal.

(HT: Challies)

Ligon Duncan was a guest today on the Albert Mohler Radio Show, which can be listened to online, discussing Hurricane Katrina. (Their segment starts about 12 minutes in.)

Sam Storms, in his email newsletter, sent out (what I regard to be) the best commentary yet to appear on Katrina. I've reprinted it at the Ref 21 blog.

Al Mohler gives an update.

Ryken weighs in at the Ref 21 blog with some helpful thoughts.

My friend Steve Knight has "compiled the following Top 25 Ways to Save at the Pump from the top 10 search results on Google." He does neglect to mention, though, one very fine way to save money on gas.

Chuck Colson reviews Smut: A Sex-Industry Insider (and Concerned Father) Says Enough is Enough, by Gil Reavill--who is not a fundamentalist preacher, but a writer for Penthouse.

Marvin Olasky takes a stroll through Princeton Cemetery in his column today: From Jonathan Edwards to 9/11.

Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost shares one small, tangible thing that he and his coworkers are doing to help the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricane:

...we want to meet the tangible immediate needs of people who are suffering in the wake of this disaster. CBHD shares this desire and is firmly committed to the idea that issues of life and health must be dealt with in a way that recognizes the innate dignity of human beings. To that end, the Center is collecting used eyeglasses and new packages of disposable contact lenses to distribute to people impacted by the hurricane. No doubt many of our fellow citizens have lost their glasses and contact lens supplies and are in need of an interim solution. By providing them with temporary replacements, we help them regain control over one of the most basic functions of living.

Please ship your used eyeglasses or new disposable contact lenses in a padded envelope to:

The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
Attn: Katrina Relief
2065 Half Day Road
Bannockburn, IL 60015